Silenced
by MaeglinRumil
Summary: INCOMPLETE An overheard convesation leads to Naruto leaving Konoha. For good. Can anything or anyone get him back? SASUNARU in later chapters, GAANARU friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Silenced

**Author**: eternal radiance

**Rating**: pg13 (for now)

**Pairings**: Sasuke x Naruto, Sakura x Lee, Kakashi x Iruka, Gaara x Naruto friendship

**Summary: **A conversation between his teammates lead to misunderstandings which result in Naruto's leave of Hidden Leaf. Permanently. And they can't do anything to make him come back. But what happens when he does, 7 years later? Why is he back?****

**Author's Note**: My first Naruto fic. I've never actually watched a single episode, nor read it, I guess think the characters are so adorable and so cool! So…. Hope you like this! Shounen ai! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Naruto (the anime and the character) does not belong to me. I wish though…

change of POV or time gap

"speaking"

'thinking'

(author's note)

_ flashback _

_Ages:_

Naruto: 15

Gaara: 16

All other rookies: 16

Temari: 20

Kankuro: 18

Mika and Riku: 17

Takeshi: 32

Kakashi: 35

Iruka: 31__

Silenced 

By: eternal radiance

Naruto was whistling to himself as he walked on his way to treat himself to several bowls of ramen. On his way there though, he blonde teen heard a familiar voice and stopped, turning to greet the person. Until he spotted who she was with. He was about to shout out to the two of them when he realized something.

Sasuke was supposed to be on a mission. Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. What was he doing here? And with Sakura nonetheless? Wasn't Sakura on medic duty?

He hid in a nearby alleyway and tried to listen into their conversation, a look of curiosity on his face.

"Sure I can carry a baby for you, Sasuke-kun. But this will be our little secret ne?" Sakura was saying, while smiling up at Sasuke.

"You might want to tell Lee. I'll let the dobe know tonight." The dark-haired teen said, but Naruto turned away.

Sakura carrying Sasuke's baby? He knew that carrying couldn't mean holding, as Sasuke didn't have a baby, so… Naruto gasped out loud, one hand covering his mouth when he noticed that neither Sakura nor Sasuke had gone yet.

In a quick flash, he disappeared and left nothing but an empty alleyway, which Sasuke came up to inspect.

Naruto jumped from tree branch to tree branch, towards the one place where he knew he would be left alone. Once there, he curled up in a ball, wrapping his arms around his legs and pressing his face into his faces.

Hadn't Sasuke said he liked him? They'd been going out for almost a year. Why did it have to end now? How could Sasuke cheat on him like that? And with his ex-crush none-the-less! But inside, Naruto knew why. Who would want a demon as a boyfriend? People always hated him, even if it wasn't as apparent now, that Sasuke had gotten used to glaring at everyone. It was no surprise that his dark-haired lover would like even love someone else, once Naruto thought about it.

He'd be happy for Sakura and Sasuke, because…it wasn't their fault that he was the Kyuubi, the demon. If his teammates were happy together, then Naruto would do nothing to stop them…even at the expense of his own heart and happiness.

He stood up and wiped his tears away.

'I need to get away.' He thought randomly. If… if the village of Konoha wanted him gone for so long, why didn't he just do them a huge favour and leave?

'Because you had some precious people here…' Naruto sighed to himself. 'They're no longer in danger are they?' Itachi and Orochimaru have already been defeated and now all that was left was the agreement with Hidden Sand.

'…Gaara!' Naruto's mind-boggling thoughts reached the dark-red haired boy and he smiled. Gaara knew what it felt like to be a demon. He would never push Naruto away.

At once, Naruto started bounding towards the Hokage's office. When he got there, he went straight to the 'old hag's' office

"OLD HAG!" He shouted, slamming open the door (after asking the lady at the front desk whether Tsunade was alone or not. He had gotten some grunt and just assumed yes.) He ducked under a chair that made it's way towards him, but stopped halfway when someone or someones caught his attention.

"I want him."

Naruto crashed to the floor and twitched for a bit. Outside his head, he could hear Tsuande explode. "WHAT?!"

The blonde boy shook his head a few times and then stood up. "Gaara! Temari! Freaky guy! What are you guys doing here?"

Gaara opened his mouth to answer when the Hokage leaned over her desk, exposing a bit more then Naruto would like to see. "The question is, what are you doing here, brat?" She asked him instead.

Everyone in the room was surprised at how Naruto's good mood and happy face dropped with that one question.

"Oh… that." He shuffled his feet. "I wanted to leave the village. I just wanted to tell you that so I wouldn't be a missing-nin or something."

He turned to leave when one hand was placed on his shoulder. "Wha-?"

"I want him." Gaara's clear voice rang in the room.

The Hokage looked at Gaara then at Naruto. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked Naruto. "Once you leave this room, you'll be a member of Hidden Sand, not Leaf."

Naruto wordlessly nodded and passed in his hitae-ite reluctantly. H He started to take off the necklace that Tsunade had given him, but was stopped. And he was glad, because it was one of the few gifts he'd ever gotten.

"Keep it." Tsunade said in a rough voice, as if she was trying not to cry. Which she was; Naruto was like a younger brother she never had after all. "Remember us with it."

Naruto nodded and turned to leave. "I'll go pack then…"

"Does Sasuke know?" The Hokage asked before he could leave. Naruto paused at the door, frozen. He had hoped that he would be gone before she'd realize to ask that question. "No." He finally replied. The nails dug into his skin as he clenched his fists, trying not to cry. "Tell him… tell him… that… I hoped he and... Sakura-chan will be happy together…" And with that, he disappeared.

"That baka." Gaara growled and followed Naruto.

Temari and Kankuro stopped to thank Tsunade who was looking sadly at the door.

"I will send you one of our own to complete the deal, Hokage-sama." Temari said and bowed low. Then they too were gone.

Tsunade slumped down hard into her chair, her head in her hands. She wondered whether she did the right thing.

It wasn't that hard to pack all his belongings. Naruto only had a small amount of clothing and very little other things. He threw it all into a bag, then succumbed too throwing in the teddybear that Sasuke had given him and a small framed picture of the both of them.

He looked around the room. Nothing else was his. It was all something Sasuke had bought, seeing as Naruto had very little money. Plus, Sasuke had said that he didn't mind. He always said that he liked buying this for Naruto.

It was only then, in the room which Sasuke and his things once mingled, that Naruto truly broke down. He slumped t the ground, his back leaning on the wall as a backrest. Naruto curled into himself and began sobbing.

Part of him didn't want to leave, but part of him knew he had to. He'd miss everyone, all the 'rookies' who've turned into good friends of his. He realized that Leaf was holding the jounin exam and he'd have to come back, but none the less… did he want to come back? With Sasuke and Sakura together, Naruto no longer had anything to live for. Anyone to live for.

A soft touch startled him and Naruto lifted his head to find himself staring into pale green-blue eyes. He clutched into the taller boy's shirt and sobbed into his chest. Gaara's hand ran up and down Naruto's back, soothing him. A while ago, Gaara could even picture Naruto crying, let alone him trying to comfort a crying person, but it was happening and he was there.

When Naruto started wiping his tears with his sleeves, the redhead helped him up and slung the small duffel bag over his shoulder. "Do you need to leave Uchiha a note?" Gaara asked.

Naruto sniffled a few times before shaking his head. "He won't care. And if he does wonder, the old hag will tell him…" The blonde took one last look at the place he had called home, the willed himself to step out the door. He locked it and left the key in the mailbox. Sasuke would understand what it meant. He probably won't care. I'd save some the trouble of him asking Naruto to leave.

With one last look at his ex-house and the life he had led with Uchiha Sasuke, he left.

On his way out of Konoha, he bumped into none other then Konohamaru. The young boy had always been a good friend of Naruto's, and he'd hate to never see him again, but it was inevitable.

"Naruto-nii!" The young child called out. "Where are you going? It's a mission right?" Without even waiting for an answer; confirmation or not, he continued. "I'll be waiting for you to come return! I still have to beat you for the title of Hokage!" then, upon seeing his group of friends, he ran off. "Bye Naruto-nii!"

Gaara threw the running boy a strange look. "Konoha kids are loud…"

Naruto just stared after his "rival" for the Hokage position. Or his ex-rival for Hokage, seeing as he was no longer a Leaf-nin, the Hokage position was pretty much impossible for him to get. "But Konohamaru… I won' t be coming back…" He whispered.

TBC…

AN: How was it? I'm really sorry if there was anything that was different. I'm trying, but for someone who's never seen the anime or read the books, it's not a piece of cake. Heh If I'm writing something wrong, let me know please?


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Silenced

**Author**: eternal radiance

**Rating**: pg13 (for now)

**Pairings**: Sasuke x Naruto, Sakura x Lee, Kakashi x Iruka, Gaara x Naruto friendship

**Summary: **A conversation between his teammates lead to misunderstandings which result in Naruto's leave of Hidden Leaf. Permanently. And they can't do anything to make him come back. But what happens when he does, 7 years later? Why is he back?

**Author's Note**: chapter number two! You know what was the funny thing? The first chapter was uploaded on Naruto's b-day… I didn't even know it was then…O.o

**Disclaimer**: Naruto doesn't belong to me. 'cept for in my dreams, heh

change of POV or time gap

"speaking"

'thinking'

(author's note)

_ flashback _

_Ages (they are not based on anything…):_

Naruto: 15

Gaara: 16

All other rookies: 16

Temari: 20

Kankuro: 18

Mika and Riku: 17

Takeshi: 32

Kakashi: 29

Iruka: 27

_Previous Chapter: _

_On his way out of Konoha, he bumped into none other then Konohamaru. The young boy had always been a good friend of Naruto's, and he'd hate to never see him again, but it was inevitable._

_"Naruto-nii!" The young child called out. "Where are you going? It's a mission right?" Without even waiting for an answer; confirmation or not, he continued. "I'll be waiting for you to come return! I still have to beat you for the title of Hokage!" then, upon seeing his group of friends, he ran off. "Bye Naruto-nii!"_

_Gaara threw the running boy a strange look. "Konoha kids are loud…"_

_Naruto just stared after his "rival" for the Hokage position. Or his ex-rival for Hokage, seeing as he was no longer a Leaf-nin, the Hokage position was pretty much impossible for him to get. "But Konohamaru… I won' t be coming back…" He whispered._

Silenced – Chapter 2 

By: eternal radiance

Uchiha Sasuke was just returning from his mission when he came across Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, who were conversing suspiciously like the way they used to do when they and other girls chased Sasuke around. Part of the black-haired boy wanted to keep walking and not acknowledge them, but another part said that they were talking about him and he was curious about what they were discussing.

He stopped right at the table that Sakura and Ino were at and stood there, waiting for them to notice him.

"Now Naruto's gone… AH! Sasuke!" Sakura saw him and her eyes widened as she looked up at him.

Sasuke gave them a mild glare. "What about Naruto?"

Ino let out a nervous laugh. "Hehe, what about Naruto? Ah, Sasuke-kun, I have to go. Shika must be wondering where I am by now." She got up to leave but a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"What . About . Naruto?"

Sakura sighed, looking away. "He's gone…" She mumbled.

"Gone?" Sasuke asked. Inside he was full of turmoil. Gone? Where could that dobe have gone?

"He hasn't been spotted for the last 3 days. We were supposed to meet up for brunch the day after you left, but he didn't show." Ino explained, sitting back down.

'Maybe he's just sick.' Sasuke thought and turned to return to his home and check up on the blonde. But the next thing that was said stopped him.

"When he didn't show, we went over to your place to see if something was wrong." Sakura and Ino now traded looks, almost afraid of saying what should come next. Finally Ino sighed. "We found his keys in the mailbox. It was his, because it was attached to the little red fox keychain you bought him a long time ago."

Sasuke remembered that gift. It had been a present that he had presented to Naruto when they moved in together. His boyfriend had been so happy with it and it was received with a huge hug and a long smothering kiss.

He suddenly felt empty inside. What could have made Naruto leave behind his keys? Maybe he was afraid that he'd lose it on a mission. But he was sure that the Hokage hadn't given his koi a mission.

"So we took the key and opened the door." Sakura said, pausing.

Sasuke almost grabbed her by the neck to force her to spit out the rest of the story. "Well?" He prompted.

The pink-haired girl shook her head. "He's gone. He left nothing of his behind. Shikamaru-kun and Lee-kun have been searching all over the place with Iruka-san and Kakashi-sensei. No one knows where he is. He left no trace behind him." She stopped as if remembering something. "The Hokage wouldn't say anything about it with us though…"

Without even a word of thanks or a goodbye, Sasuke sprinted off with the robe he was wearing trailing after him like a cape.

Sakura and Ino watched him sadly. "I wonder if Naruto knows how much he is hurting Sasuke-kun…" Sakura signed. "I wonder why we never saw that they liked each other until just a while ago…"

Ino patted her shoulder. "It could not be helped. We were too infatuated with Sasuke to see that he loved another. But they have each other now."

"Yeah. And when Naruto is found, I'm going to give him the worst beating of his life."

On his way to his new village, a blonde boy stopped upon a branch to sneeze. 'Someone must be talking about me…'

"Daijoubu?" Temari asked him, slightly worried.

"Hai, daijoubu desu…"

A huge force slammed into a door, almost breaking of its hinges. A voice was shouting from the outside. "Naruto! Where the hell are you?!" A stream of curses followed when the young man found his hands trembling too much to stick the key into the door lock.

Parents around gave him a wide berth as they held hands over their children's ears and tried to keep the foul language from reaching their brains.

Finally, the dark-haired teen was able to get the door open and it slammed into the wall, but he ignored it. He searched the room for anything that belonged to Naruto, anything in the apartment. But there was nothing. Naruto had taken everything that he owned, and left nothing of his behind.

Realization suddenly struck him.

Naruto was gone.

There would be no more smiling Naruto. No loud begging of ramen. No cuddling during the night. Sasuke looked down at his hands, wondering why he never really thought about how much being able to hold his little blonde koi meant so much to him. After all, you never know what matters to you until you miss it.

He had no clue how long he stood there, staring into the now empty apartment, but when he came to his sense, he stumbled up to the bedroom. Falling on the bed that was now too big, he turned his head to the side and his gaze rested upon a picture of Team 7, taken when they were still young.

Sasuke ran one pale finger over Naruto's grinning face. "Where are you, my kitsune?"

The rest of the Sasuke's night was filled with an uneasy and restless slumber.

Temari led Naruto to an empty pale blue room. Inside were a small bed, a closet and a small table with a lamp. "This will be your room. You can decorate it however you like." She said. "The bathroom is at the end of the hallway. Gaara's room is to the door on your right and mine is the door on your left. Kankuro is just across the hallway."

The elder sister of the raccoon demon watched as Naruto slowly put his duffel bag down on the floor beside the bed. "Thank you." He said, looking out the window.

Temari smiled. "You can unpack now. Kankuro and myself have matters to attend to." She nodded her head slightly and walked out the door.

Naruto waited until he no longer heard her footsteps before he slumped down on the bed and curled into a ball. Being somewhat small in frame, the bed was more than double his size, but this didn't register in his mind. Instead, he was thinking of the precious people he left back in Konoha.

'I wonder if anyone misses me…'

The door to the Hokage's office was all of a sudden pushed wide open. Sasuke was pissed and that was putting it lightly. The day he had come back from his mission, and found Naruto gone, he had vowed to seek out Tsunade-san to find out where she had sent Naruto, if he left by her permission in the first place. That was a little more that 2 weeks ago.

Tsunade had made up the worst excuses. Probably from the same place Kakashi learned his.

Sasuke had put up with that much during the days he accepted the excuses, but no more. It was hard for Sasuke to sleep at night, without the cuddling that a certain blue-eyed, blonde haired kitsune always did.

"Where is he?" He demanded to know from the Hokage.

Tsunade stood from the mission reports she was reading. "Sasuke-"

"Don't make your excuses. They're the same Kakashi's. Just tell me, where.is.he?" Sasuke cut her off, not caring that she was the leader of the entire Leaf village and that by demanding this way, he was disrespecting her.

The hokage sighed and sat down again, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk, but Sasuke stayed standing. "Even if I told you, " she began, "you cannot go to retrieve him."

Sasuke was shocked at this. The whole point of demanding where he was was to go and drag the blonde back, kicking and screaming if he had to. What did she mean that he couldn't go and drag him back?

"Why not?"

"Because he is on a mission."

The last Uchiha relaxed a bit. "When will he be back?"

Tsunade sighed. She really didn't want to be the one to tell Sasuke that his boyfriend – no, ex-boyfriend was not coming back. She wasn't the one that wanted to send Naruto to Hidden Sand in the first place. It was only because she saw how hurt he was, that she stupidly agreed to the deal.

She took a deep breathe before answering. "He won' t be coming back. He's no longer a shinobi of the Leaf."

"WHAT?!"

TBC…

Eternal radiance: ladida…I'm evil…. I'm really, really sorry for the late chapter…. Things have happened and well, they're not necessarily good things… ah well, I don't like leaving incomplete things, as much as I can' t help it sometimes…. This is one story I'm still interested in though… I'll try my best to write it… (faster… and there goes wild cheers from the crowds ne?) I'm listening to Naruto music for inspiration… somehow it's working, as this chapter has popped up and I know what the next is about.

Stay tuned: Next chapter Sasuke recounts to the others about what he found out from Tsunade about Naruto leaving. And Naruto goes to sign up for his new team.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Silenced

**Author**: eternal radiance

**Rating**: pg13 (for now)

**Pairings**: Sasuke x Naruto, Sakura x Lee, Kakashi x Iruka, Gaara x Naruto friendship

**Summary: **A conversation between his teammates lead to misunderstandings which result in Naruto's leave of Hidden Leaf. Permanently. And they can't do anything to make him come back. But what happens when he does, 7 years later? Why is he back?

**Disclaimer**: Naruto is not mine!…. poohh….

change of POV or time gap

"speaking"

'thinking'

(author's note)

_flashback _

_Previous Chapter: _

_"Why not?"_

_"Because he is on a mission."_

_The last Uchiha relaxed a bit. "When will he be back?"_

_Tsunade sighed. She really didn't want to be the one to tell Sasuke that his boyfriend – no, ex-boyfriend was not coming back. She wasn't the one that wanted to send Naruto to Hidden Sand in the first place. It was only because she saw how hurt he was, that she stupidly agreed to the deal. _

_She took a deep breathe before answering. "He won' t be coming back. He's no longer a shinobi of the Leaf."_

_"WHAT!"_

Silenced – Chapter 3 

By: eternal radiance

"Naruto."

A knocking was heard at the door of the sleeping blonde's room.

"Naruto, wake up!"

The small blonde on the bed stretched and one of his blue eyes opened. He was met with the set of a strange room. One which he didn't recognize as his own; the one he shared with Sasuke.

He took a brief moment to refresh his moment and then shot up from the bed. An all-dressed Temari stood there, with her huge fan strapped onto her back. "About time you woke up." She said, smiling. "Hurry up and get dressed. Gaara will show you were to register for your new team." She tossed something shiny at him which he caught and held up to his face to look at. It was a small key on a silver chain. "Don't lose it. It's the key to the house."

Naruto caught the chain and picked the key up. Attached on the silver chain was a dog tag like object which spelled his name in bolded letters. Temari saw his expression of confusion and smiled slightly. "Gaara made it last night." She was smiling because she knew her little brother and knew that he had never been a nice person, as a child or as a teenager. He was always labelled as the loner, or the monster, and yet Temari has always tried her best to help him fit in, even if she had been scared of him at first.

Once Naruto had defeated Gaara, the red-head had changed. The blonde was the only person who had showed Gaara something other then contempt and hatred. He was just like Gaara; having a demon caged inside him, yet he was so different. While Gaara was silent and always threatening to his surroundings, Naruto was the sunshine in everyone's eyes. While both were hated by villagers, Naruto had been able to make close friends with some of the kids in Konoha, while all Gaara was able to do was scare everyone off.

But now, Naruto's presence woke Gaara up, and he was changed. He still scared people at times, especially on missions when he made kills, but there was an attempt to care. And Temari appreciated that. She was glad that Gaara could finally open up to someone. It had occurred to her before, but she never saw how much Gaara enjoyed being with Naruto until last night. He spent so much time making the dogtag keychain just for Naruto, wanting to make something special for the one who had changed him so much.

The fan-wielding sister was happy to see her little brother so intent into something other then killing. And she owed it all to the boy who sat infront of her.

That is why when Naruto burst into the Hokage's office, stating that he needed to leave Konoha, she was about to give the offer to him for being the switched ninja. Gaara beat her to it though, and she was glad that Naruto accepted. He would be good for Gaara.

"Get dressed." She said, after a bit. "Breakfast is on the table." Then she left, still with the strange smile on her face.

"Strange…" Naruto muttered to himself and stood to get dressed.

A few hours later saw Naruto and Gaara walking around Hidden Sand. They had an hour before the registration building would be opened so that Naruto would be assigned to a team and so Gaara took the time to show Naruto around the village.

Stopping at a tall building, Gaara disappeared for a bit, telling Naruto to not move from that spot, and so he didn't. As he waited, a large burly-looking young man stepped in Naruto's way. The blonde was surprised as most of the other villagers didn't dare step in his way. But he didn't show any reaction on his face. Instead, he just looked up at the stranger.

"Hmph. Another weakling from another village? What are you doing here?

When Naruto didn't grant him an answer, the guy grinned. "So, a mute?" He reached out a hand to take hold of his chin, "… you're a pretty one, boy." He yelped when his hand contacted with sand and not human flesh.

He turned around and was faced with Gaara. "Don't touch him, Maki."

The boy, Maki was arrogant and brave, but not brave enough to stand in a mad demon vessel's way. He shot a look of contempt towards Naruto and flew.

Gaara walked up to where he had told Naruto to wait for him. "He didn't touch you, did he?" He asked, still glaring at the leaving form of the guy who had tried to bug Naruto. No one was ever going to bug the blonde boy. Not while Gaara was around.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "No. But thanks anyways, Gaara." He said, trying to shoot a smile towards the boy who just "saved" him, even if he could have taken care of himself.

Gaara gave him a nod in reply and they continued on their walk, now to get Naruto registrated into a team.

A short skunk-looking woman looked Naruto up and down, trying her best not to see Gaara. If the redhead acknowledged that he was being ignored, he didn't say anything.

The woman looked back at her sheets. "You'll be put in Team 7 with the twins, Mika and Riku. Be here tomorrow morning to meet them as well as your teacher." The she went back to the paperwork she had on her desk and the two boys took this as their cue to leave.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing in complete silence. Naruto was still thinking about the home he had left in Konoha and Gaara could sense that the boy was thinking deeply and didn' t want to disturb him.

It was 7 when they finally walked back, only because they knew Temari would scold them for if they ever missed dinner.

"So where is he?"

This was the first thing Sakura said to Sasuke as he sat down at the table at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. He shifted, a little uncomfortable – one being hat he was usually here accompanied or accompanying Naruto, and two because Sakura's idea of a "small" group of people, included all the rookies who were now at different levels of ninjahood, as well as their teachers.

Sasuke looked at the people, then looked back at his pink-haired ex-teammate with one fine eyebrow arched up.

She shrugged in response. "I told Ino first." She said.

Ah. That explained everything. It was often said that once Ino knew something, everyone knew it.

"Well?" Konohamaru asked impatiently. "Where is Naruto-nii?" He was annoyed because he was probably the last one to see the blonde. If he had known that the blonde had been going away forever, he would have stayed to ask why. Instead, he had assumed that Naruto was only going on a mission, not noticing that the headband the blonde prankster was wearing supported the Sand emblem instead of the Leaf one.

Everything had clicked together only when he heard from Moogi who overhead some teens speak about Naruto leaving the village permanently.

Sasuke sighed. Why couldn't the Hokage be the one to spread the news? But he only sighed again and began explaining what Tsunade had said to him.

_flashback begins _

_He's no longer a Shinobi of the Leaf."_

_There was a bit of silence while Sasuke's brain processed this information. _

**_Naruto, not coming back. _**

**_Not longer part of Leaf._**

_"WHAT?" He finally cried out, surprising Tsunade even himself. "What do you mean by that?"_

_The Fifth shook her head but didn't reply to his question. Instead, she remembered the last words that Naruto wanted her to say to his ex. "He told me to wish you and Sakura the best of happiness." She glared at him. "Whatever you did or said to him, made him decide to leave us. To leave me."_

_Sasuke's head was whirling. What did Sakura have to do with Naruto leaving? But… she had Lee, so what did she-_

_His heart almost stopped with the realization._

_'There was no way… he must have heard…. That must have been what Sasuke felt when he and Sakura decided to tell Lee and Naruto about their…'_

_Sasuke sat down hard on the chair which had been offered to him earlier. _

_"What did you do to him, Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife cutting through butter. Her voice was cold and not at all like the Hokage he was used to seeing. Then again, he usually saw Tsunade with Naruto at his side. And the Hokage loved and treated the blonde-haired boy like a little brother. _

_She had the right to be mad ad cold, Sasuke reasoned with himself He sighed heavily as he wondered how he should tell her. _

_"I found an ancient jutsu when I was cleaning my house." He began a bit awkwardly. "It was… well…" Tsunade waited patiently as the normally stoic ninja stumbled over his words, and marvelled at how much he had changed when he and Naruto were together. _

_"My family had a history…of… havingpartnersofthesamegender." Sasuke said the last part really quickly. The Hokage raised an eyebrow to this knowledge. She had never known. Then again, the Uchihas were a mysterious bunch._

_"My great, great, great, great- something or other – grandfather created a jutsu, to allow these couples to have their own child."_

_Tsunade's eyes began to gleam as se realized what it was Sasuke was trying to say. But one thing was unclear. "But why did Naruto think you and Sakura were together?" She asked._

_Sasuke sighed again. He felt really embarrassed explaining this to anyone, but it was necessary. "There was one condition. That someone capable, with the right… attributes... would be needed to carry the unborn child. And it would take only half the time for the child to be created. "_

_"And so you asked Sakura." It made sense, as Team Seven had become really good friends with each other. Sasuke wouldn't have found anyone else to bear his and Naruto's child. _

_Sasuke nodded. "Sakura and I decided to tell Lee and Naruto about it. We did the jutsu already. I was going to tell Naruto about it after I got home from the mission. But he must have overheard Sakura and I talking and misunderstood."_

_Tsunade closed her eyes and brought her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She hated doing this, but they had signed an agreement with Sand and it could not be taken back. Not unless she wanted them to cancel their part of the agreement. Opening her eyes to look at Sasuke sadly, she began to talk. "Even if it was all a misunderstanding, you cannot travel to the Sand Village and tell Naruto that." She paused. "No one may."_

_"Why not?" Sasuke cried out. Tsunade was shocked at how the usually-cold boy was acting. It was as if in the short time he had spent with Naruto, some warmth had rubbed off the blonde and onto the dark-haired shinobi. _

_"It was a peace agreement between Sand and Leaf. One ninja will be exchanged. A ninja who is highly trusted by their own village. A ninja with complete loyalty to his or her village. I hadn't chosen Naruto, as I thought he could have wanted to stay, but with just one look of those heartbroken eyes, I didn't have a choice. As much as some of the villagers may no have liked it, I trust him more then anyone here. I know he holds complete loyalty, if not to Konoha, then to me." She shook her head. "I know you're upset, and I know you will jump at the first opportunity to go after him. But remember, Uchiha Sasuke, you were the reason he left in the first place. You drove him from me. And there is nothing you can do to bring him back."_

_flashback ends _

There was silence after Sasuke finished his tale. Several of the rookies were practically in tears. Something was not missed until it was actually gone for good. And in this case, the thing/person missed was Naruto.

He was the one who brightened up this village. And they had driven away their own sun.

TBC..


End file.
